Fresh from the glitz and glamour of the 70th NSW Training Awards, four mature-aged learners have taken out the top gongs at the premier celebration for vocational education and training excellence.

This year’s Vocational Student of the Year, Rebecca Hambrook, has overcome addiction, incarceration and childhood trauma.

She has leveraged her lived experience as a support worker and advocate for First Nations and rural people at the Weigelli Centre Aboriginal Corporation in Woodstock, near Cowra.

Ms Hambrook said her Certificate IV in Community Services and personal experience made for a powerful combination to transform people’s lives.

"Working as a support worker at a drug and alcohol residential rehabilitation centre is really rewarding for me,” Ms Hambrook said. “It really holds a big piece in my heart being able to help people who are going through similar journeys as to what I have.

“I know what the struggles are, and I know there's a better life that can be lived, which can be hard to see when you are not in a good place. To be recognised with this award is amazing. I never thought it would be happening to me."

This year’s NSW Training Awards were held on Thursday, 11 September, at Sydney Town Hall following seven regional events hosted by Regional Training Services across the state earlier in the year.

For Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Student of the Year, James ‘Poncho’ Barry, vocational education has taken his career to new heights – literally.

The 47-year-old Cessnock hot air balloonist had two decades of tourism experience under his belt when he decided to further his education with a Certificate III in Guiding.

He said his studies enhanced his storytelling and created more engaging experiences for visitors at his job at Balloon Aloft.

Passionate about Indigenous heritage and the Hunter Valley’s history, Mr Barry said his studies with TAFE NSW were a gamechanger.

“It was a fully Indigenous class and the fact that my TAFE NSW teacher allowed us to move out of the classroom and onto the riverbank and teach us on our terms was really good,” Mr Barry said.

“I’ve now got the confidence to back myself, whether it’s talking on a stage in front of 500 people or talking to a busload of 20 people about to go up in a hot air balloon."

Apprentice of the Year Kathyrn Beale said her apprenticeship had given her a head start professionally and personally.

Homeless at the age of 16, Ms Beale upskilled to complete her Certificate III in Electrotechnology to become an electrician at Star Electrical.

Now working on major construction and infrastructure projects, the Sydneysider is ready to buy her first home at age 27.

"I was homeless, I was in a youth refuge, couch surfing, sleeping on the streets; so, in the last 10 years, I've gone from homeless to about to buy my own house just because I did a trade,” Ms Beale said.

As a woman working in a non-traditional trade, Ms Beale is also passionate encouraging young women to broaden their horizons.

"It's not a boys' club anymore and there is such a shift in mindset at the moment, especially with the government pushing more engagement of women. I wish when I went through school there had been someone I could have looked up to that would come and talk to me and say 'hey, consider a trade'.

“The difference that it's made to my life is just incredible and I'd love to talk to young people and make sure they know there's other options out there."

Trainee of the Year Imogen Young-Maloney travelled five hours from Wagga Wagga to attend the awards night, where she was celebrated for her resilience and proactivity in overcoming challenges as a trainee business support officer at Wagga Wagga City Council.

A champion for Vocational Education and Training (VET), Ms Young-Maloney said there was ‘no one size fits all’ solution to education and careers and attributed her Certificate III in Business to laying the groundwork for her success.

"I am helping Wagga Wagga City Council rebrand their learning organisation, and working on their trainees and apprentice program,” Ms Young-Maloney said. “A lot of what we do impacts future students who are considering university but are not sure if it's right for them and are looking at going into apprenticeships and traineeships instead.

“It's about being able to show them different pathways and that no matter what type of field you want to get into, there are other options to get into those fields."

The four winners will go on to represent NSW at the Australian Training Awards in Darwin on 5 December 2025.

NSW Training Awards winners

Individual

Organisation